Woman killed by Golden Valley police officer on I-394

Investigators check the scene of a deadly traffic stop on Interstate 394 on Thursday. A Golden Valley officer shot and killed a woman who police say had a handgun. (Pioneer Press: Elizabeth Mohr)

The State Patrol has shut down all lanes of westbound I-394 and all but one eastbound lane near Hopkins Crossroads after a fatal officer-involved shooting on the freeway. (Courtesy: KARE-11)

For more than three hours Thursday, the body of a woman shot and killed by police on Interstate 394 lay between her car and the median as investigators mapped out the deadly scene.

The woman, who was not identified, was fatally shot by a Golden Valley police officer. The officer tried to stop the car about 1 p.m. on westbound I-394 near U.S. 169, but the driver continued on for another half-mile, finally pulling to the left side of the freeway just past the Hopkins Crossroad overpass, police said.

The woman, who was alone in the white Honda Civic, "was in possession of a handgun and was subsequently fatally shot by the officer," according to a news release from Golden Valley police. Her body fell between the Civic, which had California license plates, and the freeway median.

It's unclear if the woman fired her weapon.

A bystander near the scene said Hennepin County officials came and collected videotapes from a squad car directly behind the Civic shortly after the interstate was cordoned off by investigators. The county has not confirmed that footage of the incident exists.

For hours after the incident, the Civic and a handful of Golden Valley police squad cars were surrounded by Hennepin County squad cars and two of the county's mobile crime lab vans. Investigators took measurements and photos and marked evidence. At least seven yellow evidence cones, used to mark bits of evidence and shell casings at a crime scene, could be seen clustered on the ground around the squad car closest to the Civic.

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One yellow cone sat on the roof of the Civic.

A team from the Hennepin County medical examiner's office finally collected the woman's body about 4:45 p.m.

At 5 p.m., westbound I-394 remained closed and just one eastbound lane was open, snarling rush-hour traffic.

This was the second fatal officer-involved shooting in recent weeks involving a woman and a busy metro freeway.

On Sept. 3, a Minnesota state trooper shot and killed Debra K. Doree, 48, of Landfall after she attempted to flee a traffic stop on Interstate 94 near Century Avenue. As she drove off, the officer was caught in the vehicle and dragged nearly 30 yards. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension later confirmed that Doree had a half-pound of methamphetamine in her vehicle. Authorities have not yet determined whether the trooper's use of deadly force was justified.

The Golden Valley officer involved in Thursday's shooting was not injured. The officer will be placed on administrative leave while the incident is under investigation. The Hennepin County sheriff's office is investigating.